Bursts of Color
by NaLu x Buckets
Summary: They live in a world where most can only see black and white. But once you touch your soulmate, Soulmate AU. NaLu, GaLe, Gruvia, and Jerza.
1. Chapter 1

**This is going to be a very short series, only a four-shot: one chapter for each of the big four ships. I've always loved soulmate AU's, so this one was fun to write. Hope you enjoy!**

 **xx**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own fairytail, and I don't really own this AU either. It belongs to** **non-gavin** **on tumblr, so s/o to them.**

She lived in a world of black and white.

In fact, most of them did.

The only exception was when you and your _soulmate_ , as Lucy's mother had called it, touched each other in any way. Then suddenly, everything would be in screaming color.

Lucy knew only one person who had met their soulmate already, or two she supposed. Erza, one of her best friends, had met her soulmate at a young age when she moved in next door to him. They were still together today, 15 years later.

Some people met their soulmates early, like Erza, but others could take years, sometimes even decades before meeting theirs.

Lucy looked outside, dull colors still on the other side of her window.

Inside of her window.

Blacks, whites, and several different shades of gray were all she could see.

She glanced at the leaves rustling against the light breeze, and tried to remember what color they really were. Her mother had told her a long, long time ago, so trying to think of the name only frustrated her. So she looked away, trying to ignore the nostalgic pains in her chest yelling at her to figure out what the color was.

But it had been so long ago.

 _What time is it?_

She glanced at her clock, hoping it would satisfy the sudden panic of feeling late.

It did not.

"Shit," She cursed quietly, and quickly threw off her covers, "Shit shit shit." The words repeated over and over, but it didn't make her get ready any faster. Luckily, her school had uniforms so the process of picking out an outfit didn't slow her down, but trying to find her tie did. She usually kept her uniform in a neat pile in a drawer, for things could easily get lost amongst all the neutral colors. It all looked the same.

But yesterday she was tired, and the tie felt too tight around her neck. So she tossed it aside… _Where?_ She paced around her room anxiously, her eyes scouring for any sign of a striped tie.

Found it.

Lucy quickly picked it up and tied it around her collar, and then glanced at the time once more.

She had to suppress a screech.

She grabbed her bag and checked to make sure there was some gum in there to mask the smell of her uncleansed mouth, and then ran out, barely able to slip her shoes on the way. Her hair was a mess, she knew, but she didn't care. There was no way she was getting another lecture from Mr. Clive.

The bus started to approach her stop. She was halfway down the street.

Faster.

The doors started to open. It seemed so far.

Faster.

People started to enter. Just a few more strides.

WHACK!

Lucy went flying forward along with her things. Her eyes snapped shut, preparing for the horrible land that was bound to come. She landed hard on her stomach, and couldn't help but groan a little bit.

"I'm so sorry…" She moaned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"No, its fine, I wasn't watching where I was-" The masculine voice stopped mid sentence.

"No no, it was all-" Lucy opened her eyes, and froze. Yes, the bus had started to pull away but…

It wasn't black.

It wasn't gray.

It wasn't white.

"So that's green," Lucy murmured, staring in amazement at the retreating vehicle.

"Woah." The man replied, and he shifted. Suddenly, everything was the same dull colors. Lucy whipped around to face him, and he stared at her with the same wide eyes. It was then that Lucy was suddenly aware of the sour taste in her mouth and awful state of her hair. She laughed nervously, angling her head just right so that he wouldn't get a sniff of her words.

"You, uh, want some gum?" She popped a piece in her mouth and quickly started chewing.

"No, I want to touch you again."

Lucy's face turned beet red, and she happily swung her foot right through his face.

"Pervert!" She screeched.

The world around her burst with color again, but only for a moment before he fell to the ground from the sheer force of the blow.

She remembered the situation.

And her face turned to a tomato in embarrassment.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry I kinda forgot-"

"I never thought my soulmate would be such a weirdo," He rubbed his face and sat up, grinning at her with the sharpest teeth she had ever seen.

Is that natural?

Ignoring the fact that he had just called her weird, she smiled back at him.

"I'm Lucy, by the way."

"Natsu." He replied.

She ran her fingers through her hair, a nervous habit. It used to be a lot easier when it was at her shoulders, but now her hair reached down to her waist, more and more length that she hand to comb her fingers through.

She wanted to touch him again, but how does she go about asking? Does she ask bluntly like he did, or does she come up with some scenario where in the end she would trip and fall or have to touch him once more.

Luckily, she didn't have to do either.

"Alright, just a warning Luigi, I'm going to touch you again. Please, _please_ don't kick me. It kind of hurt." He grinned at her. She rolled her eyes, but didn't really mind his comment. She just couldn't wait to see the color again.

Wait.

 _Luigi?_

"It's Lucy," She grumbled, not really paying attention to what she was saying. All she could do was stare as his hand came closer and closer…

She picked up her own and lifted it, so that they were just inches away from each other.

Color.

Their eyes had been locked on one another when color entered the world again. She was so used to blacks and grays, but the darkness of his eyes were so satisfying to her, she couldn't explain. So of course, she was a bit disappointed at first when a light, warm strand of hair drifted in front of those eyes. But the longer she stared, she found that the color of his hair was so beautiful. Without conscious thought, her gaze drifting up to the soft tufts upon his head. Pink. Yes, that's what the color was, she was almost positive. This was the one her mother had described so vividly, so well to her.

Slowly, Lucy started to look places other than him, as hard as it was. The trees. The grass. The sky, the road, the endless flowers. Even things that were neutral colored seemed so vibrant to her.

They were both so focused on everything, they didn't noticed that their fingers were laced together.

"I don't know about you," Natsu sighed, staring into Lucy's eyes once more, "But I'm never letting go." Lucy glanced at him, and she felt like melting with the way he was staring at her. His eyes were so sharp and sexy and intimidating, yet so warm and kind. She squeezed his hand tighter.

"Okay," She breathed.

But then her breath caught in her throat.

"Shit shit shit shit shit! I'm so dead," She quickly stood up, and the world became dull once more. _Maybe Mr. Clive will take it easy on me because I met my soulmate?!_ "I-I really really have to go. Here, I'll give you my phone number." She quickly dug through her bag for a piece of paper and a pen, then scribbled her number in hardly eligible handwriting. Lucy threw her bag over her shoulder, and shoved the piece of paper in his hand. There was another flash of color, but she ignored it.

"It was really, _really_ nice to meet you Natsu. Maybe we could meet up for coffee or dinner or something," She didn't even look at him as she shoved the last of her things in her bag, and ran off.

He stared at her as she ran off, rolling the piece of paper she gave him in between his thumb and index finger. She was wearing a Magnolia High School uniform, so he understood that she had to be at least a year younger than him. Not that he minded. She was perfect.

He chuckled, the memory of all of that color and that weirdo's beautiful eyes filling him with a sweet bliss.

The world may have been full of dull colors at that moment, but with her on his mind, his heart was bursting with bright fireworks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Woah, two chaps in a day. I had thought about the GaLe meeting a lot, so I couldn't wait to write it I guess haha. This one is a bit angstier, hence the "angst" tag that goes with this story. I don't think it's too bad though. Sort of inspired by recent Fairy Tail chapters, for those of you caught up, sorry if I spoiled it. Hope you enjoy :))**

 **xx**

Levy had heard of people going blind when they lose a soulmate, but it had never happened to anyone she knew.

So she had no idea what to do when suddenly her mother screamed, followed by a heaving sob and a waterfall of tears. "M-Mom? What's wrong?" The small girl ran over to her mom and dropped to her knees, so she was down at the older woman's level. Her mom's hands were shaking so hard.

But all her mom did was moan Levy's father's name over and over again.

She didn't even look at Levy.

"I-I'm calling 911!" Levy's eyes were clouded with tears, she tripped several times on her way to the phone.

" _This is 911, what's your emergency?"_

"H-Hi," Levy's voice cracked. She wasn't even embarrassed, "My m-mom wont stop scr-reaming and she's crying and she just collapsed and oh my god tell me what to do please."

" _Miss, please stay calm. We're sending help right now. Where's your father?"_

"Uh h-he should be coming home from work soon."

The phone let out a terrifying beep, causing Levy to jump. Another sounded, signaling another call was coming.

" _Alright miss, just stay by your mother and get a cold washcloth. Put it over her eyes and try to locate her to a couch or bed. Lay her so that her head is above her heart. Can you do that? Make sure to stay on the phone."_

"O-Okay." Another beep. Another call.

She ignored it.

The sound of sirens comforted her as she helped her mom onto the couch in the other room, placing a cold, wet washcloth onto her unfocused eyes. She was still crying.

Still looking into nothing

Even as the doctors knocked down her door, she still brushed through her mother's hair, whispering words of "It's gonna be okay."

However, that night when her mother came home saying that she was blind, Levy realized she had been lying to her mom.

That night when her father didn't come home, she realized she had been lying to herself.

.~*~.~*~.

Levy strolled through the small town's market place, glancing at the shopping list once more. Tonight she was making a big dinner in honor of the fifth anniversary of her father's death, and while she had never been too good at cooking, with her mother being blind for five years Levy had to learn to adjust.

"Corn, corn, corn, corn," Levy glanced around, her steps slowing to a pause. She had walked around every single one of the tents and hadn't found a single kernel of corn. It was her father's favorite vegetable, she couldn't leave it out.

She started to walk around once more, her eyes completely focused on scanning each and every inch of each and every tent. It had always been hard, trying to find separate foods amongst such similar colors, which was why people usually came to the farmer's market with their soulmate. But Levy had yet to find hers, and in such a small town she doubted she ever would. Even though the thought of seeing all of the colors she read about in her books hungered her with a slight temptation to travel around the world, she was content. Happy with her life here.

Levy had never been much of a traveller anyway.

She sighed, about to give up. This corn was _nowhere_ , and her social anxiety would _not_ allow her to embarrass herself in front of a stranger by asking if they knew where some was. Especially since this was such a small town, everyone knowing everyone scared her even more.

A light brush of skin,

A bright burst of color.

"What the-" She heard a deep man's voice mumble behind her, but she didn't really process it. Levy was in deep, deep shock. She had met every single person in this town, probably touched every male in some way. Yet this voice was so unfamiliar, along with the color that had faded from her eyes.

Levy slowly turned around, preparing herself for disappointment.

She was not at all disappointed.

Tall, muscular, dark hair, piercings _everywhere._ If she didn't know what she wanted before, she definitely knew now.

But what caught her attention the most was that he was in green army pants, and a matching jacket tied around his waist. The rest of his torso was covered in a white tank top. _Of course_ , that's why he was so unfamiliar. There was an army town just a few miles down the road. A few of the soldiers visited from time to time, for reasons uncertain to her. Not that it mattered.

"Oi, who woulda thought my soulmate would be sucha shrimp," The gruff man grumbled, not even hesitating in taking a step towards her.

"The _shrimp_ ," She growled, staring up at him in irritation, "has a name y'know."

"Then why don'tcha humor me with it, _shrimp._ " He snickered at the pout forming on her lips. She was short, definitely, she didn't even reach his shoulder, but also very attractive. And that angry look on her face only added to her overall adorableness.

And she had a nice ass. Not that he was looking, but he was.

She huffed and turned around, crossing her arms in irritation. "It's Levy, Levy McGarden."

"Well," He smirked, " _Shrimp,_ I'm Gajeel. Now are we gonna try this touching thing again or what?"

She grumbled something about how she should have expected such an annoying idiot, but hesitantly reached out her arm to touch his again.

"Damn goin right in for it," He winked, "Good to know my soulmate is a bit of a pervert,"

"Oh my god, shut up!" She punched him in the shoulder, or at least tried to. But it came out weak and pathetic, for she wasn't taken aback once more by the sudden bursts of color once more. Everything was so beautiful all of a sudden, she didn't even notice when she took a step closer to him, just so that her fingers resting on his scarred bicep was more comfortable.

"Woah," He muttered, glancing around everywhere as well, until his eyes landed on her. The sparkle in her eyes was enough to make him go a little soft for her, and the way her hair shifted in the wind made him melt just a little bit. Gajeel would never admit it though.

And Levy. When she finally looked at him, she felt chills. Even though his hair was so so dark, it even seemed vibrant to her in some way.

"So, uhh," Her eyes traced his entire body, up and down. She could not look away. "What do you say we, uh, go out for dinner tonight or something? If you're not busy?"

"Well I don't know," He replied. She bit down on her lip, and finally gaining consciousness of where she was in relation to him, she took a step back and started to retreat her hand from his arm. The world's pigment faded. But before her hand completely returned to her own side, Gajeel grabbed it.

Color bloomed before their eyes once more.

"I'm not paying, I'm kind of broke." He smirked at her, his eyes staring lasers into her own.

"Fine." She smiled back.

.~*~.~*~.

It had been one week since one of the best nights of Levy's life. Sure, he seemed like a jerk at first, but after getting to know him she realized she really... _really_ liked him. He was her soulmate after all, so it was to be expected, but it still came as a surprise to her. Gajeel had to leave the next night, he was being shipped off to another state or something. It left her sour taste in her mouth, that he was out doing dangerous things like that. He said he only had one more month of service before he was finished though, and that eased her troubled heart a little bit.

So she went to sleep that night, a small smile on her face. In a month, she would be with her soulmate. In just a month, she would be able to see the future that had seemed so cloudy just a week before.

But what she didn't know was that by tomorrow her future would be very cloudy once more. So cloudy, she would wake up blind.


End file.
